When you write with the goal of publication, you're writing something you hope people will pay money for in the future. Whether it's an inexpensive ebook or a hefty collectible hardbound edition is up to you (or your publisher) but one thing remains the same: If you want people to pay for your writing, you need to make sure they're getting their money's worth.

Think of your writing as a meal at a restaurant. Most hardback books cost $20 and up, so you're looking at a decent steak dinner or at the least a fancy hamburger and appetizer combo. If you ask people to pay that $20 and then serve up a dollar menu item what will your readers think?

I wrote my first National Novel Writing Month novel in 2002, and the t-shirts for that year were emblazoned with "No Plot? No Problem!" (later the title to Chris Baty's excellent how-to guide to NaNoWriMo). I always wear that shirt a few times during November, so I may be biased here, but I feel that many NaNo participants put far too much focus on plot.

NaNoWriMo participants often define themselves as Pantsers or Plotters. Pantsers are the "seat of the pants" writers who dive in to writing with only a wisp of an idea. Plotters take the more organized approach of planning their characters or story arc before writing. I'm a pantser with plotter leanings, but I think there is merit to both approaches. Unfortunately, most of the pre-NaNo chatter seems to revolve around plot, plot, plot. "Do you have a plot?" "What's your story about?". Bloggers everywhere are offering advice on how to plot your story, how to outline, and how to organize your pre-writing research. That's all well and good, but I think many people spend so much time obsessing on plot that they forget the most essential element of their stories: the characters. A plot is only as exciting as the characters who carry it, and if you don't have compelling characters, no amount of plot scheming will save your story.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to stumble upon a 5-week writing class at my local community college. I had a B.A. in English with an emphasis in creative writing, but I learned more from this little class than in all four years of college. The best lesson of the class can be summed up in eight words, and it completely changed my approach to writing.

Now that Fall is here, it's the perfect time for a fire in the fireplace and a good book in your hands. For many people, nothing is better than curling up with an engrossing whodunnit. While there is no shortage of mystery and thriller titles on bookstore shelves, there is always room for the next great police procedural or crime-solving grandmother. When you're done with the latest bestseller and ready to tackle writing your own, the following resources (compiled by our wonderful intern Deb Signorli) will help you bring the right amount of mystery or grit to your story.

There are all sorts of reasons we love ebooks at The Editorial Department. We appreciate the fact that soaring ebook sales represent one real bright spot in an otherwise gloomy publishing economy. It's also very encouraging to see part of this remarkable upswing coming from publishers recognizing what ebooks can do for their authors whose books are no longer available in hardcopy.

It wasn't so long ago that once a book went out of print, a reader's only resource was a library or a used book store. All too often it seems that only the most famous authors--the Stephen Kings and JK Rowlings--have most of their catalog available and in print. The rest of us are at the mercy of sales numbers and limited print runs. But thanks to ebooks, that's all changing, and it's truly a win/win situation for writers and their publishers.

One of our favorite cases in point comes from a client of ours named Ann Brandt, whose original path to publication with HarperCollins in 1999 was harrowing as it was thrilling.

Her debut novel, Crowfoot Ridge, tells the story of a remarkable journey of courage and self discovery as a woman trapped in a loveless marriage and a life she can no longer stand confronts the darkest secrets of her past and reconnects with a life she never should have left behind. Crowfoot Ridge is a beautiful, moving novel that, sadly, has been out of print for quite some time. But now it's been given a well-deserved new life as a September, 2010 ebook release from HarperCollins.

To celebrate her return to print, we'd like to share Ann's story with you, in her own words. Like most published authors, her story is one of persistence, patience, and the unflagging dedication it takes to bring a book to fruition. We were delighted to be a part of Ann's creative journey and are thrilled her story is once again available to old and new fans.

I'm a veteran of many writing classes and I've learned that there are two pieces of advice I can count on hearing on any class: "Write what you know" and "Write what scares you". Both seem simple on the surface but can be anything but simple when it comes to putting them into your work.

 

This isn't about facing your writing fears (that's a topic for another day), but literally writing about what scares you. Like zombies and vampires, you ask? Well, those are extremely popular now, but I'm thinking a little more realistically. Take a minute and think about what scares you. Public speaking. Losing your job. The 3am phone call letting you know a family member is in the hospital (or worse). Focusing more tightly, fears can be more pedestrian, but no less crippling in the moment. Overcooking the roast when you're trying to impress guests. Hoping your thrifty significant other won't notice you went a little nuts at the bookstore. Having to keep a secret that you're dying to share.

"Some days I feel quite confident, but other days..." -Susannah Goodson

I'm borrowing Susannah's quote from our Facebook wall because it rings so true to the writing life. One of the universal truths of writing is that it is a solitary activity. No matter how involved you are with writing groups or online communities, it always comes down to you versus yourself. Stories are created in our brains and can only be shared with others when we find the right words to express them. Writing is a neverending search for the correct words to take abstract concepts--emotion, sensory input, philosophical musings--and make them understandable to a reader. The longer you're left alone with your words, the easier it becomes to lose confidence in your writing. The doubts creep in, the inner editor laughs at your attempts to string words together, and you start to wonder why you even bother to write. Add to that the anxiety of sending your words out into the world to an editor or agent and that second career as a burger flipper starts to look a lot more appealing.

We've all been there.

As the week winds to a close, I'd like to leave you with some horror writing resources. Also, don't forget that we're giving away a free Introductory Critique. Find the details in the first post of this series (linked below). Big thanks to RJ Cavender and Jane Ryder for their guest posts, and also to the many communities like shocklinesforum.yuku.com, horrorworld.org, merchantskeep.com who have carried on the conversation beyond this blog.

If you're looking for information on the nuts and bolts of horror writing, horror.org and fictionfactor.com house two of the internet's best compilations of horror-themed writing craft articles. I've selected a few to highlight here, but please browse their listings and find the ones that work best for your writing style and interest.

Susan Helen Gottfried is a woman with a healthy appreciation for loud music and larger than life characters. She's also a talented writer who has channeled her passion for heavy metal music into Trevor and Mitchell, front men of the band ShapeShifter. Set in the fictional town of Riverview (a kind of Anytown, USA) the rock 'n' roll lives of ShapeShifter and their fans are chronicled in the books THE DEMO TAPES (Years One and Two) and TREVOR'S SONG. After many positive comments, but no book deals, Susan decided to quit waiting on publishing trends and took the ShapeShifter gang to Smashwords (ebook) and Lulu (print) where their stories could finally reach an audience. Self-published authors are often perceived as not good enough for traditional publishing, but Susan defies that notion. Pulling double duty as both author/editor and publicist, Susan has seen the writing life from all sides, and her experience can help any author break out of obscurity.

In the last part of the How to Build Your Author's Platform series, I featured Dora Machado, a traditionally published author who came to platform building late in the game. For today's feature, I interviewed Georgia McBride, a YA author with a very different perspective. Georgia is not yet traditionally published, but she has an impressive social media presence, and is very active in both promoting her writing and mentoring and supporting up-and-coming authors. She also speaks to teens about writing, promoting within her target audience, and nurturing the next generation of writers. She has a background as a marketer and manager in the music industry, and has been a part of the launch of several teen and tween music brands including N'SYNC and Fall Out Boy. She's no stranger to promotion and branding, and her expertise can help both new and established authors refine their web presence.

TED: There are many ways to connect with potential readers and publishers. Which do you consider the most essential?

GM: You want both potential readers and publishers to recognize your name when the time comes. However, the attention span of a consumer (potential reader) is so short that spending lots of time trying to get their attention (and God forbid money) now, when there is no book/physical product to promote is like playing the boy who cried wolf. When you finally do have a book out they will be so tired of hearing about you, they may move right on past.

I've recently been bitten by the twitter bug and have found a wealth of writing-related resources there. From agents posting helpful advice, to detailed articles on writing craft, twitter has it all. What it also has is a rather steep learning curve, especially for people who weren't born with a computer mouse in hand. I spent most of my college years immersed in the precursors to today's social media sites (ISCA BBS, anyone?), but twitter threw me for a loop. Now that I've got my sea legs, I've put together a quick guide to the growing phenomenon of twitter chats: Why they matter, how to participate, and which ones are best for authors.

First, a quick overview of how to use twitter.

If you don't already have a twitter account, you will need to create one at twitter.com. Once you have an account, you can either read and post tweets from that site, or use one of the many third-party tools to access your information. I prefer tweetdeck, but hootsuite is also popular, as are many applications for mobile devices. Many tweets are labeled with the name of the software the author used, so use that as a guide and find the one that works best for you.

The most important (and frustrating) thing about twitter is that you are limited to 140 characters at a time. That includes spaces, hashtags, and anything else you might want to type. Hashtags are words or phrases preceded by the hash symbol - #. Hashtags act like a filter on twitter. You can click on a hashtag, or enter it into the search box, and only posts containing that hashtag will be displayed. This is how twitter chats work. Each chat has its own hashtag, and you need to know that tag--and to add that tag to your posts--to participate.